Pecan Crescent Cookies

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: about 5 dozen cookies
  • Total: 1 hr
  • Prep: 20 min
  • Inactive: 15 min
  • Cook: 25 min
These sugary, nutty little nuggets have been a Christmas staple in my house since the late 70s. These tempting cookies were nearly impossible to sneak a pre-holiday nibble of, because even one bite would yield a trail of powdered sugar all over the kitchen, your shirt and your mouth!
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Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour, scooped

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup pecans, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Directions

  1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. 
  2. Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl and set aside. 
  3. Combine the butter and granulated sugar in a separate large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in 4 teaspoons of water and the vanilla. Slowly mix in the flour mixture and finally, the pecans. 
  4. Break off tablespoonful pieces of dough, roll each to form a crescent shape and arrange evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets. (You'll have leftover dough for a second batch.) 
  5. Bake until slightly golden on the bottoms and edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Watch very carefully--better to undercook than overcook. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough. 
  6. Put the powdered sugar in a shallow plate. Once cooled, roll each cookie in an ample amount of the sugar.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Jane J.

I too had followed the recipe to the letter . The cookies were dust ..threw them in the garbage.  Soooo disappointed ! <div>I always made great pecan cookies but this year followed this recipe. Terrible! What a waste of money . </div>

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